“But how?” Iain asked. “Have you seen the papers today? The Ouroboros Society is dead. No one will want to be associated with it. You really think we can save it at this point?”
“We’re not the ones who can save it,” Haven said. “I should have figured that out a long time ago. But I think I know someone who might be right for the job.”
“You mean?” Leah asked.
“Yep.” Haven held out a hand and helped Leah to her feet. “You feeling good to go?”
“I am now,” Leah said.
“What in the hell are they talking about?” Beau asked Iain.
“No idea,” Iain replied.
“Hold up, Haven,” Beau said. “Will you please tell me what’s going on? Where are we going?”
“We’re going to introduce you to your soul mate,” Haven said with a grin.
“You’re joking,” Beau said.
“Nope,” Haven told him. “I’m so serious that I’m even going to insist you take a shower.”
“Who are you people?” Haven turned to see Ramona and her friend staring at them. She’d forgotten they were still there.
“I’ll be back soon with the money we owe you, Ramona,” Leah said. “I appreciate you praying with me. I never forget a good turn.”
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
“I got off the plane and took a cab to the address on 114th Street that I’d been given,” Beau told his rapt audience in the back of the taxi. “Course the driver dropped me off on the wrong corner, and it took me a while to find the right building. So I finally get there, and I walk up the stairs and ring the buzzer. And Chandra answers the door. What was she doing in Leah’s visions, anyway?”
“We’ll explain later,” Haven told him. “We want to hear your side of the story. Just assume we know nothing.”
Beau took in a deep breath. “If you say so, but for the record, this all really couldn’t get any weirder.”
“No kidding,” Haven replied.
“Okay, so Chandra answers the door at the apartment where Roy Bradford was supposed to live. I don’t recognize her at first, and I’m not expecting to see some girl—much less a girl who lives in an apartment that looks like it’s right out of another century. So I tell her I’m sorry to bother her. But she insists I’m at the right place and tells me to come inside and have a beer. I’m sitting there thinking ‘I know this chick from somewhere.’ Then I figure out where. She was the one who saved our butts in that Indian grocery. And that really started to mess with my head.”
“Were you scared?”
“Of Chandra? Hell no! The girl’s what, five feet tall? I’ve eaten sandwiches bigger than her. But that was when I started to realize the whole trip was going to be about you again, Haven. No offense, but I was a little disappointed.”
“Sorry,” Haven said. “I swear I’ll make it up to you soon. What did Chandra tell you?”
“She said she belongs to a group called the Horae. Their job is to watch over you.”
“Watch over me?” When Haven started to snicker, Iain and Leah joined in.
“Am I supposed to ignore the fact that I’m not in on your little joke?” Beau growled. “I just spent the night in a bank vault for you.”
“Sorry,” Haven said. She squeezed his muscular arm. “I won’t laugh again.”
“Anyway,” Beau reluctantly continued. “Chandra reminded me of the time she saved us, and that seemed like proof enough of what she was saying. She told me that you were in trouble again. Adam had found you guys in Italy. Chandra said that the Horae were trying to figure out a plan to save you, and they needed my help. I had to convince you to fly back to New York.”
“Wait—what happened to Roy Bradford?”
“Roy Bradford doesn’t exist. He was just a play to get me to come up here.”
“So how did Chandra know about our previous life in Florence?”
Beau looked at Haven as if she were crazy. “She was there too!”
“Interesting. But if my good friends the Horae wanted me back in New York, why didn’t they just ask me to come?” Haven asked.
“Because Adam would get suspicious if you flew back for no reason. It needed to look like there was some kind of emergency.”
“I see.” Haven nodded. “Continue.”
“I don’t like this game,” Beau said.
“It will be over soon,” Haven assured him.
“Chandra asked me to send you a message that would make you think I was in trouble—one only the two of us would understand. She said it would be more convincing if you really thought I’d been kidnapped or something.”
“So you texted pan-pan,” Haven said.
“Exactly. See, you know all this, Haven!”
“Please, Beau,” Haven begged. “Just humor me.”
“Chandra swore they told you the truth when you got to New York. But I couldn’t be sure ’cause they wouldn’t let me talk to you, and I didn’t want you worrying about me on top of everything else. So one day when we went out to do some grocery shopping, I slipped away and called you from a pay phone. Chandra was pissed. She said that Adam might have the phones bugged and that I could have gotten you killed.”
“Is that when they beat you up?”
“What? They didn’t beat me up. I was mugged. Why do you think I had to call you from a pay phone? The day after I got here, I went out for a soda, and two kids in masks jumped me from behind. Took all my money and my phone. Chandra wouldn’t let me leave the house without an escort after that. So I just started staying inside. Then Adam found the apartment and sent the cops to raid it, so they hustled me up to the roof and across to another building. I was almost on the verge of walking out the door when they showed me that e-mail you sent.” He paused and searched Haven’s face for any signs of recognition.
“Please. What did the e-mail say?”
“That it was time to go ahead with the plan. You’d found a way to lure Adam down to that vault. But you weren’t strong enough to trap him all by yourself. You needed me to wait inside and surprise him.”
“How did you know the e-mail was from me?”
“Because the message came from your e-mail address. You’re telling me that you didn’t write it?”
Haven shook her head.
“Then who did?” Beau asked.
“It must have been Calum Daniels. He stole my phone yesterday.”
“Wait. You guys know Calum too?”
“You could say that,” Iain said.
“Hmmm,” Beau said. The notion that a television star might have been impersonating his best friend didn’t seem to shock Beau as much as it should have. “I’m guessing I’ve been wrong about a lot of stuff. But to tell you the truth, Calum was the only part of this whole thing that felt totally off. The first night I got here, he showed up with a bottle of champagne. Chandra said he was friends with the Horae, even though she didn’t seem to like him very much. I guess she couldn’t really do anything to keep him away, since it was his apartment and all. By the way, have you seen that place, with the tiger-skin rug and the furniture that looks like it’s right out of some old granny’s house?”
“Yeah,” Haven said.
“Goddamm creepy, ain’t it?” he asked with a shudder.
“Oh yeah,” Haven agreed.
“Anyway, Calum started putting the moves on me right away. Kept promising he’d introduce me to Alex Harbridge. At first I was a little starstruck, and I kinda found it flattering. But then it just got weird. He didn’t want to know anything about me. Didn’t even ask where I went to school. I got the sense that he was using me for something, though I still don’t understand what it could have been. Finally, I just came out and told the little weasel that he wasn’t my type, and that about drove him batshit insane. I’ve never seen anybody so mad. Not that it worried me. If Chandra hadn’t sent him packing, I would have made sure his face wasn’t fit for television anymore.”
“You may still get your chance,” Haven said.
&nb
sp; “Really?” Beau asked eagerly.
“As long as you let me get a punch or two in,” Iain said. “He’s my little brother, after all.”
“Excuse me?” Beau interjected. “Okay, I’ve had just about enough. Who here is going to explain why Iain’s brother was so desperate to get into my pants? Or why I just spent twenty-four hours in a bank vault? And what’s all this crap about a ‘soul mate’?”
“Which question would you like me to answer first?” Haven teased.
“Start with the soul mate!” Leah insisted. “That’s the best part.”
IT WAS TWO in the morning by the time they reached the Andorra apartments. Across the street from the building, ten lawn chairs were lined up against the rock wall of Central Park. Each was filled with a dark, amorphous blob. Haven saw one of the shapeless creatures move and a glint of light reflected off a camera lens. The chairs, she suddenly realized, held men tucked into all-weather sleeping bags.
“Paparazzi,” Haven said. They were staking out the Andorra apartments. “They’re looking for us, aren’t they? How do you suppose they knew to come here?”
“It’s probably my fault.” Iain sighed. “I told the police I’ve been staying at the Andorra. Someone must have leaked it to the press.”
“Hey, y’all? Is there anywhere else we can go?” Beau asked, massaging his temples. “After everything that’s happened, I’m not really in the mood to pose for pictures.” He was still trying to absorb the outlandish story they’d told him, and he looked as if his brain might explode at any second.
“I’ll run inside,” Leah said. “Those guys don’t want any photos of me.”
“You’re going inside?” Haven asked.
“Frances will kill us if I don’t tell her what’s going on! And I figure I can get some money for the cab and a fresh change of clothes for Beau. He smells like a slop bucket. You mind if he borrows some of yours?” she asked Iain.
“Not at all,” Iain replied with a lopsided grin. Leah clearly couldn’t wait to introduce Owen to Beau.
“I see Leah’s still crazier than hell,” Beau remarked once the girl had slammed the car door behind her. “Nice to know some things don’t change. But I just can’t get over the stuff y’all just told me on the ride over here. You really think Leah Frizzell is supposed to save everyone in New York City from a plague?”
“I think that’s why we’re all here,” Haven said.
“So you’ve gotten me involved in some sort of cosmic conspiracy?”
“Isn’t that what friends are for?” Haven asked.
“Jesus,” Beau muttered. “I guess I need to start spending more time on my own.”
“I bet you don’t feel that way when the night’s over,” Haven joked.
“You know what? I’m getting pretty tired of you screwing with my head, Haven Moore. In fact I think I’ll take this opportunity to spend some time with my thoughts. At least I know they’re sane.” Beau closed his eyes, and Haven pressed her face to Iain’s chest, trying to muffle the sound of her giggling.
“I can hear you!” Beau barked.
A few minutes later, Leah slid back into the cab. “Boy, that woman’s got a one-track mind,” she said. “The first thing Frances asked was if we’re all going to die. The second thing she wanted to know was if Haven and Iain are still working things out.”
“Technically, that’s a two-track mind,” Iain said.
“So, I got the clothes. What’s our plan now?” Leah wanted to know.
Haven leaned forward and rapped on the Plexiglas barrier that separated the driver from the back seat of his cab. “Gramercy Gardens Hotel,” she ordered.
THE HOTEL’S LOBBY was virtually deserted, and Haven breathed a sigh of relief. The clerk at the reception desk nodded at the party of four and returned to surfing the Internet. Now that Adam was gone, it seemed a spell had been broken, and Haven was blissfully anonymous once more.
“Iain?” Virginia Morrow was sitting in one of the lobby’s love seats. She glided toward them like a ghost. Still dressed in a white linen dress, she wore neither coat nor stockings.
“You guys go on upstairs. Room 2024.” Haven gave Leah and Beau her room key. Without thinking, she stepped in front of Iain as if to protect him.
“May I speak to my son alone, please?” Virginia asked.
The changeling? Haven wanted to say. The boy you tortured because he couldn’t be yours alone?
“Haven is my family,” Iain said, his tone matter-of-fact. “She can hear whatever you have to say.”
“Fine. I want you to know that I’m leaving New York,” Virginia said. “I’m returning to my villa tomorrow, and I won’t be back. I thought we could speak just once before I go. Alone, if possible.”
“Haven stays,” Iain insisted. Haven took his hand. His grip was too strong; she could feel her bones beginning to crack. She bore the pain without complaint.
Virginia nodded. “You must have many questions to ask me,” she said.
“No. Not anymore,” Iain told his mother. “I know what you are. I know about you and Phoebe and Calum.”
“So Haven told you. You’re lucky you found her again,” Virginia said. “I know how terrible it is to be alone in the world.”
“Alone?” Iain’s temper was rising. “You were never alone. What about all your sisters? What about me?”
“Sisters is just a word we use. The Horae are related in name only. I wanted a child so I could finally have a real family. I dreamed of a child who would look at me with nothing but love. Someone I could devote my life to. You won’t remember, of course, but when you were a baby, I smothered you with affection. I wouldn’t even allow your father to hire a nanny. I wanted you all to myself. And then—”
“And then I learned how to talk,” Iain said.
“Yes. That’s when I discovered that you weren’t mine at all. You belonged to Haven.”
“I could have belonged to you too,” Iain said.
“Perhaps. But the disappointment was devastating. Then your father had his affair with Phoebe. She paraded her son in front of me. It was clear from the beginning that this was Calum’s first time on earth. I was so jealous. My hideous sister had been given a pure soul.”
“And look how Calum turned out,” Haven said. “He’s not so pure anymore.”
“Yes,” Virginia replied. “The poor child never had a mother to guide him.”
“Neither did I,” Iain noted.
“You didn’t need me. You had Haven. Calum is the one who was left all alone. He’s the one who deserves my pity. That’s why I’ve asked him to return to Tuscany with me. There’s nothing left for him here. If Calum stays, he’ll only end up in jail.”
“I still don’t understand why you came to New York in the first place, Mother. If you hate Phoebe so much, why on earth would you help her?” Iain asked.
“Because there was no more money. That and scotch were the only two things that seemed to dull my pain. I knew the day would come when I would have to do without both. I was terrified. It had been almost twenty years since I’d seen the world through sober eyes.”
“I would have given you anything you’d asked for,” Iain said. “I could have found help for you too.”
“I didn’t want your help,” Virginia stated. “It would have made it impossible for me to hate you. I needed that hate. It was the only thing keeping me alive.”
A silence settled over the group. Haven prayed for the strength to keep herself from strangling Iain’s mother.
“Things have changed now,” Virginia said at last. “You’re the only one I can turn to. Calum and I must have money if we’re to survive.”
“Why should I give you more money?” Iain asked. “You’ll only spend it on scotch. God only knows what Calum will buy.”
“It’s been two weeks since my last drink,” Virginia said. “I don’t expect you to have any faith in me, Iain. I know I can’t salvage our relationship, but perhaps I can help your brother.”
&nb
sp; “What about the Horae?” Haven asked. “Don’t they want you to stay with them?”
“My sisters and I have elected to go our separate ways. Now that the magos has been imprisoned, we deserve to live our own lives for a while. If the snake goddess chooses to release him, we will reconvene. But Phoebe will never be allowed to lead us again. Vera has taken charge.”
“Make sure she keeps an eye on Chandra and Cleo too,” Haven said. “They’re every bit as bad as Phoebe.”
“Possibly,” Virginia said. “But don’t judge them too quickly. We’re all capable of terrible things.”
“So I’ve been told,” Haven quipped.
“You’re referring to our conversation at the villa?” Virginia asked. “Have you stopped to wonder what might have happened if I hadn’t warned you about yourself? I did you a favor, Haven. You should thank me.”
Iain must have sensed an argument brewing. “Haven,” he said before she could respond, “why don’t you go ahead to the room while I show my mother to the door?”
Haven gritted her teeth and nodded. She headed toward the elevator bank but didn’t go upstairs. She watched the pair from around the corner. A half hour later, they were still chatting, but even if they’d talked for the rest of the night, Haven wouldn’t have left Iain alone with his mother.
“Engaged in a little espionage?”
Beau and Leah stepped out of an elevator. Haven spun around to shush them, but she couldn’t help but smile at the sight of the freshly scrubbed boy with sandy blond hair. Even the fading bruises around his eyes couldn’t ruin his looks.
“Cleans up real nice, don’t he?” Leah joked.
“You sure I look okay?” Beau asked. “Iain’s jeans feel a bit tight on me.”
“They look pretty darn good to me,” Leah said.
“It might help if you told me where we were going at two o’clock in the morning,” Beau said. “Then I’d know if skintight pants were appropriate attire.”
“We’re going to wake up a friend of ours,” Haven said. “Right after Iain says goodbye to his mom.”